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Letter: Tax rates vs. tax revenue

I'd like to clarify the misunderstanding I see in letter after letter about the difference between tax rates and tax revenue.

Every time tax rates have been decreased in the past, under John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, tax revenues have increased -- the total amount of tax collected has increased, and the share of total taxes paid by "the rich" has also increased.

This is because rich people take their money out of the taxable pool when tax rates increase. They put it back in when tax rates decrease, thus increasing the taxable pool and ultimately tax revenues.

That's why raising tax rates, on the rich or anyone else, is not going to solve our deficit or debt problems.